Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. is the first office tenant for a new downtown West Bend office and hotel development.
According to a news release, Stifel will consolidate its two West Bend offices with a roughly 7,000-square-foot space at the new Water Street Suites. The 15,500-square-foot office building and a 68-room TownePlace Suites Marriott extended-stay hotel are being developed at the southwest corner of Water Street and South Forest Avenue.
Stifel is a wealth management and investment banking firm, and is a subsidiary of the publicly traded company St. Louis-based Stifel Financial Corp.
It signed a 10-year lease with American Commercial Real Estate. The remaining office space is still available for lease.
“We could not be happier to make our new home in this exciting development in the historic heart of our community,” Matt Andrews, senior vice president of investments of Stifel, said in the release. “We’re proud to be a part of downtown West Bend. Our new office will greatly benefit our eleven financial advisors as well as their clients.”
American Commercial Real Estate is part of the West Bend-based American Cos. family of companies. American Cos. is developing the project along with Iowa-based Kinseth Hospitality Cos. and Downtown West Bend Hotel Associates LLC.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working as the property manager for Stifel at their current location on 18th Avenue since 2009. We explored many options and I’m pleased to be able to continue this relationship with them at Water Street Suites,” Jo Sadownikow, principal of American Commercial Real Estate, said in the release.
The office and hotel are being developed on a portion of the former Gehl Co. manufacturing site. West Bend acquired the site from Gehl, now known as Manitou Americas, in 2008 after the company relocated just two blocks east. The city then cleaned up the site and prepared it for development.
The site was sold to DWBHA in February. The team developing this project also collaborated on the Hampton Inn & Suites West Bend, located near the southeast corner of South 18th Avenue and West Paradise Drive.
Construction began shortly after the land sale. The office is expected to be open in the fourth quarter, while the hotel should finish up by the second quarter of 2020.
“Downtown West Bend is a highly desirable destination for new and expanding businesses,” Jay Shambeau, West Bend city administrator, said in the release. “With the transformation of the Riverwalk, and this exciting site redevelopment, we are exploring all economic development opportunities that will support and enhance the community.”
